that sinking feeling and found out my day was getting worse. After answering a gauntlet of questions, I found out that little soda bottle, which I had thought was harmless, actually had exploded in the shop. It blew up with so much force that it knocked a five-pound radio off the shelf, sprayed hazmat all over the shop, and actually got into mouths, eyes and noses of three people. It barely missed hitting another shipmate in the head when it exploded. The only good news was that the guys who went to the hospital were OK. In fact, they were back at work the next day.
My pride took a huge hit, but I was thankful no one was injured seriously in this incident. This event is something I never will forget; neither will my shipmates—they remind me regularly. I learned two valuable lessons: Spray-Nine doesn’t have any warning about transferring the chemical into other containers, but anytime you transfer hazmat into a temporary container, it should be an approved one. I hope my near-tragic, big-bang mistake will make others aware of this danger. Petty Officer Allenbaugh works in the airframes shop at VAW-124.
Tire Change Gone Bad
By AD1 David Coffelt
H
ow does a simple tire change become the most embarrassing and potentially deadly mishap in my 15-year career as a flight engineer? The answer is found in one very simple three-letter acronym: ORM (operational risk management) or better yet, the lack of ORM. A routine four-day NALO mission in our C-130T from the East Coast to the Mediterranean to drop off cargo and personnel seemed like a piece of cake. After the first 10-hour day of flying, we landed in Lajes,
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Azores. The following morning, the transient alert sergeant called to tell me that our C-130T was leaning right wing down and a little aft. I immediately thought about the preflight I had done with my trainee before leaving home base. Did I miss something that could have been fixed at that point? After a short ride to the aircraft, we discovered our starboard, aft main-mount tire was flat. Normally, this situation would not pose a problem. However, we were at an airfield with no tools or parts
Me c h
